Curfew
by L.C. Li
Summary: "Honey," said Sabine Dupain-Cheng. "I think Marinette is sneaking out at night." — Comedy.


_**(A/N: aight this show was all over tumblr and i thought to myself hm looks kinda cute guess i'll give it a casual watch. AND THENNN got obsessed and gradually spiraled down into trash and here have a random short fic that's like braindead agh)**_

* * *

Sabine Dupain-Cheng paused for a moment, fingers resting on the handle of the door to her teenage daughter's bedroom.

It must simply be a coincidence. Marinette was such a sweet, obedient child. Perhaps she had been in deep sleep yesterday, when Sabine had knocked on the door to ask her a question. Perhaps that was why she hadn't answered.

Sabine breathed quietly through her nose.

Squeezed her eyes shut.

Opened the door.

"Marinette," she called softly, stepping into the room.

The floor was tidy and the desk clean, save for the normal scraps of paper and ribbon and buttons scattered over Marinette's sketchbook as signs of flyaway creativity. The room simply looked like Marinette, and for a moment, Sabine relaxed at the familiar atmosphere.

Then she noticed:

The bed.

Was.

Empty.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not at home, and it was one in the morning.

::-::

"Honey," said Sabine Dupain-Cheng. "I think Marinette is sneaking out at night."

Tom Dupain-Cheng lowered his newspaper and peered over the rim of his coffee mug. "Sorry?" he said. "Marinette? Our daughter?"

" _Yes_ , our daughter," Sabine said grimly. "The past three nights, I've gone to check on her, and—she hasn't been in bed."

"Even though we never saw her leave," Tom mused.

"Exactly!" Sabine's voice skyrocketed shrilly. "She's somehow sneaking out, every night!"

Tom's brow furrowed in concern.

"What if she's in the wrong crowd and—and doing drugs, drinking, having sex—" Sabine felt her knees collapsing beneath her at the very thought. Her sweet little girl! Surely she hadn't grown up _that_ quickly?!

Tom promptly stood and pulled her too his chest, humming soothingly as he ran a hand through her hair. "It's alright, Sabine," he said. "We know our daughter. Don't you think she has a good reason?"

A hard glint sparked in Sabine's eye. "She'd _better_ have a good reason."

::-::

Marinette knew something was wrong the moment she stepped into the house after a long (mildly embarrassing, mildly exhilarating) day from school.

For one, her mom wasn't bustling about the shop. She was sitting calmly, quietly, back perfectly straight and brows so delicately relaxed that to the casual bystander, she didn't have a care in the world.

For two... her mom had a dangerous smile that Marinette had never seen before, and she had an empty cakebox on the table. There were _never_ empty cakeboxes on the table.

"Sit down, please, honey," Sabine Dupain-Cheng said sweetly.

Marinette sat down.

Sabine gently traced the edge of the cakebox with one finger. Something about the motion seemed almost predatory. "So, how have you been sleeping?" she asked.

"I... uh, what?" Marinette said.

"Been sleeping well?" Sabine said.

"I guess?" Marinette said.

The tracing stopped. Marinette felt a prickle in the back of her neck—something that heralded impending doom.

"You've been going to bed quite _late_ , Marinette," Sabine said.

"I—have I?" Marinette said.

Sabine raised an impressed eyebrow. "Have you?"

Marinette shrank into her chair, but stayed silent.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," said Sabine in that terrifying inside voice that only mothers seemed to have, "you have been sneaking out of the house, and I want to know why."

Marinette stared.

 _Oh dear._

 _She knows._

 _Somehow, my mom knows._

::-::

Marinette was forced to transform in front of her parents to explain the whole ordeal. They were nonplussed, to say the least.

Sabine wasn't much happier to learn that her darling little girl was risking her life every night, but she'd seen those monsters and what they could do—Marinette had to protect the city simply because no one else could.

So Sabine kissed her daughter's forehead, braided her hair, and sulked for the rest of the night.

::-::

Marinette rushed back from school the next evening, ready to switch back into her ladybug garb before she took to the rooftops. The sky was already blackened from night, whispering of an incoming akuma.

"Tikki, hurry!" she whispered frantically.

But Tikki wordlessly pointed to her desk, upon which sat a neatly packaged red-and-black bento box.

 _In case you get hungry for a snack. Be careful, sweetie. - Mom_

"Oh, mom," Marinette giggled helplessly. "A snack?"

"I think you should take it," Tikki said sweetly.

"Well, that's a given," Marinette said with a smile, and hoisted it over her shoulder as she merged into Ladybug.

::-::

"Didn't think you were the type to bring a sack lunch," said Chat Noir casually, eying her bento.

"I thought I might want a snack," Ladybug said with an enigmatic smile. Her eyes flickered over his face. "Why, you hungry?"

Not really, but he didn't remember what it was like to eat when he wasn't alone. "Starving."

"Let's share." Without hesitation, she popped open the lid. The heavenly scent of fresh curry wafted to Chat Noir's nostrils. He could have groaned at the smell.

Eating it was even better. The potatoes and carrots all but melted in his mouth, mixed with a tinge of spice and offset with smooth ribbons of chicken. He hummed in appreciation with a double thumbs up, and realized—he actually had someone to whom to give a thumbs up. Maybe that made it taste all the better.

"Good?" Ladybug said.

"Delicious," said Chat Noir.

"Thank my mom," Ladybug said smugly, and though she didn't say it explicitly, he could tell how proud she was.

"Oh, I'll definitely thank her," Chat Noir said with a grin. _After all, she gave birth to you._

But the curry came pretty close.

::-::

 _Wrap up warm! The weather's cold tonight. - Mom_

::-::

 _Energy bar to eat while you're on the road. - Mom_

::-::

 _Vitamin C pills. Don't catch a cold. - Mom_

::-::

 _Stay hydrated! The second water bottle's for Chat Noir. He's your coworker, isn't he? - Mom_

::-::

(Okay, now this was getting kind of annoying.)

 **FIN**  
 _s.d.g._


End file.
